Break Free The Night (Book 2): Loss of Light (7 page)

              "Better make it midnight," Quinton returned, trading Jack's rifle for a handgun. Both men checked their wristwatches.

              "You shouldn't go alone," Anna whispered, her eyes darting from Bill's prone form to Quinton. Quinton stared back. He frowned, his eyes traveling over their small group. Kaylee knew what he saw. A group of kids, a father who wouldn't leave his daughters, a man unconscious, and the only trained nurse to look out for him. It left Jack. But Kaylee knew that he wouldn't leave her to walk into this new place without him. She may have closed him out, but he wouldn't do that. Quinton shook his head.

              "Midnight," he said. He paused, still looking down at Anna and her bag, tubing and vials strewn about on the forest floor around her feet. "Don't tell them you're a nurse, keep it to yourself." Her eyes tightened but she nodded. Quinton turned and took off into the woods in a controlled jog.

              "Hey guy!" Jack yelled, waving to the stranger. "Wait up!"

             
Beyond anything else, the first thing Kaylee noticed was the smell. Damp and musty and wet, like moist concrete. There was a heavy, yet somehow dusty, quality to the air, as though you couldn't be quite sure just what you were breathing in.

              And the next was the noise, a loud pounding, rush of water.

              "Can we take these off now?" Emma asked irritably.

              "Please do," came a new voice. Kaylee ripped her blindfold away. She had put it on willingly, after Jack indicated it would be all right to do so. The lanky stranger, Danny his name was, had walked them across the field and straight to an old minivan that he had parked behind a copse of trees. He opened the door for them and indicated they should sit, right on the floor of the van because the seats had been taken out. He hadn't taken their handguns, or indicated in any way that he would, so Nick and Jack agreed, settling in with the girls and Andrew only after they had gotten his father laid out on the van floor. Danny had produced blindfolds, scraps of an old shirt by the look of them, and they'd agreed to put them on.

              The blindfolds were mostly pointless. They were disorienting, annoying, and not tied well. Kayle
e’
s had slipped over the bridge of her nose, light seeping over the folded top of the cloth. And with the light, vision as well. The ride was
n’
t long, and it was mostly straight, even blind she doubted sh
e’
d have trouble finding her way back. But maybe Danny just wasn't all that clever.

              They had driven straight towards a large brick building. It was several stories high, standing solitary against the backdrop of the pale orange sky. The only remarkable thing about the buildin
g’
s surroundings was that there did
n’
t seem to be any. Kaylee could see nothing around it, the landscape to either side just dropped off, until she could only see the hills in the far distance fading to black with the setting sun. There was one entrance door, large and constructed of dull steel. The windows were high, almost at the roof. They were thin, rectangular industrial windows and looked as though they had
n’
t ever been opened. But even though she had seen the large brick building as they drove closer, she still did
n’
t understand what she was seeing now.

              "Welcome to The Mill." Kaylee blinked against the intrusive light, her eyes adjusting slowly. Light. There was light. And she was indoors. The van had driven past the front of the building, skirting around i
t’
s edges and pulling unto a descending driveway that ran underneath the building and into a loading bay. She had recognized the sensation and feel as the dirt road first shifted to gravel then pavement and then a gradual decline, as though they were pulling into something.

              A thrill of recognition and hope shot through her and her eyes sought out Andrew immediately because he would know exactly what the light meant. It was what he always hoped for. But his eyes were trained on his father, of course.

              Bill was breathing. Kaylee could see it. But it was shallow and he wasn't waking just yet. Emma and Anna were ignoring the general surroundings. The latter already checking Bill's vital signs and the former now whispering words of encouragement to Andrew.

              Jack and Nick were standing though and Kaylee joined them to take in her surroundings.

              Concrete. The walls and ceiling and everything surrounding them was concrete. It was musty and damp in places. And cold. Cooler than Kaylee had been outside.

              But there was electricity, just as Danny had said. Lots of it. Because the florescent light strips that lined the concrete ceiling all pulsed with the low whine of electricity and none were broken or hanging. The van was parked behind them, in front of metal garage doors that Danny had pulled into place after he had parked.

              "What is this place?" Jack asked and Kaylee's attention shot from her surroundings to the man standing in front of them. His face was lined, his hair gray and wiry, even his eyebrows, which were bushy and sprang out over his deep set eyes. He wore a faded blue jumpsuit, it reminded Kaylee of the kind the janitor wore in her old school, a thick black vest hung open from his shoulders. He was short, or maybe it was just his shoulders and the way they hunched over into himself. But it didn't take away from his commanding presence. This was Marsden. It had to be.

              He was staring at each of them in turn, a sweeping gaze that took in every inch of their group.

              "We call it The Mill," Danny answered. He was shifting around from foot to foot, eyeing Marsden as he spoke. The old man didn't look over at Danny, his gaze lingered on Emma, who had finally turned to face him.

              "He was electrocuted," Emma spoke, pointing down at Bill. Anna had her ears in her stethoscope, listening to Bill's chest, a look of complete concentration on her face. "Do you have a place-"

              "You have beautiful eyes," Marsden interrupted, staring at Emma. She started, looking from Marsden to her father and then Andrew. Both had tensed noticeably, their fists clenched. "Green, are they?"

              "Yes," Emma answered with hesitation.

              "Beautiful," Marsden murmured with a nod. "We have a room available for guests. Danny will show you the way."

              "Come on," Danny muttered, jerking his head in the direction of a stairwell Kaylee hadn't originally noticed. Jack looked from the stairs back to Marsden, but he already had his back turned and was stalking away from the group, a slight, but noticeable, limp to his gait. Jack looked frustrated, like he wanted to ask questions and demand answers, but he didn't. Kaylee noticed his fingers ran the outline of the gun he had tucked under his shirt, as though reaffirming to himself that it was really still there.

              Jack and Andrew bent to pick up Bill and follow Danny's lead, while Nick took the back, sandwiching the girls in the middle. Emma's expression was worried and confused, her eyes flickered between the stairwell and Bill. Kaylee was worried too and she was sure her feelings shone as plain on her face as they did on her sister's. But there weren't a lot of options, they needed someplace to rest, someplace safe. It was already dark outside and their camp was miles away.

              The stairwell was the same dank concrete as the large garage. It had the same lingering odor of dampness mixed with dust. And it didn't in any way prepare them for what they'd find at the top.

              The room above the underground garage was huge. It encompassed the entire space of the building Kaylee had seen from the outside. She estimated it to be at least three stories high with a large, dark crane hanging from two horizontal tracks that spanned the length of the ceiling. The crane was distracting because Kaylee had not expected it to be there, had never seen a piece of machinery so large just hanging inert from a ceiling. The walls were the same plain concrete as the garage, but the top third transitioned to the bricks that Kaylee had seen from outside. And it was through the bricks that the large, rectangular windows were cut. The light outside the windows was fading to a dusky purple.

              But even the size of the room with the crane hanging from the ceiling was less impressive and shocking than the contents.

              Televisions, stereos, computers and lap tops, all the screens lit and different images flashing in the blocks of color. They were lined against the walls and in rows, creating a maze of electricity. Shelves filled with DVD cases and what Kaylee assumed were CDs, stacks of the old vinyl albums and at least two different record players, video games and consoles, all different kinds, it all cluttered the large room. There was a giant television, centered in the mess and facing a set of couches. Everything was muted and Kaylee could only hear a low hum that she immediately associated with electricity. She felt the muscles in her jaw slacken as her mouth hung open.

              They didn't just have access to electricity, they were swimming in it, breathing it in the air around them, flaunting it. Never, not in their wildest dreams, could they have wasted the generators like this in the old firehouse. But fuel must not be a problem here. What did they use? It couldn't be gas; no one would waste it that frivolously. Kaylee tried to catch Andrew's eye, knowing he would understand what was going on. But his eyes were trained on his father.

              Bill was breathing steadily, still held up between Andrew and Jack. He wasn't light, but the strain of carrying him wasn't apparent in either man. Kaylee thought they must have been trying to be stoic. Regardless, it would be better to find him a place to lie quietly so Anna could really check him over.

              Danny didn't slow to wait for the group to take in the cavernous room. He strode on, oblivious to Kaylee's gawking, not speaking. But his weren't the only footsteps slapping the concrete floor ahead. Marsden was already ducking past a door and out of sight. And further down a set of eyes peeked out from behind an old fashioned pinball machine, Kaylee almost missed them in the haphazard blinking lights of the relic game, but they were there, sharp brown irises in a pale face framed by midnight hair. The woman was older than Kaylee, as was most of the remains of the living world, but not by much. She looked closer to Anna's age. She was thin though, petite. She watched the group approach with caution, and melted back into the silent fray of blinking lights and recorded shows and music videos before Kaylee could make eye contact.

              How many were here, in this strange, large cavern, this museum of electricity?

              "Up the stairs, straight ahead, there's a good sized room with some cots," Danny indicated, pointing the way. "Can you fellas manage?"

              Jack and Andrew nodded.

              "I'll follow you up." Danny pointed ahead and the group shuffled past in single file. Nick was still at the back, just behind Kaylee. She moved forward, stepping up the first stair. Danny stood close by, watching each of them pass. It made her uncomfortable, being watched. But beyond even that, it felt like she was on stage, being evaluated, being appraised. She didn't like the feeling and abruptly, even with the electricity, she wanted to leave. She wanted the clean open air of the forest and the lingering scent of pine and smoky fires wrapped around her like a security blanket. She blinked at the realization. Never before had the thought of being in the woods made her feel safe. Home was apartments and pavement and crowds of people. Her old home anyway.

              Or maybe it was just Jack, his constant scent of pine and rain and that undertone of honey. Maybe the thought of being in the place that gave him that comforting balm that so soothed her nerves, even now, even after Susan, maybe that was what she really craved.

              Maybe that was her new home. A wandering home following a fragrance that wrapped around the man she loved but had trouble looking at.

              Her father poked her a bit when she hesitated. "Keep going, honey." She started and moved forward, checking from the corner of her eye. Yes, Danny was still staring at her. She locked eyes with him for a moment, but then dropped her gaze. He was strangely intimidating. Not like Quinton. More like he
wanted
to intimidate, and knew his staring would do it. As her eyes lowered, she couldn't help but notice the boxy outline of a handgun on his hip.

              The room they were directed into was large. Kaylee was immediately surprised they were offered it. There was a line of beds, five on each side of the long room. Bill was already being carefully placed on the one farthest from the door. They all looked freshly made, all with uniform dark wool blankets tucked with hospital corners into the thin mattresses. There was even a pillow, encased by a white pillowcase, on each of the beds. If it weren't for the fact that there were ten, Kaylee would have thought Marsden could see the future and knew they were coming. It seemed impossible that this was just set up and waiting the way it was.

              "There's a bathroom through that door," Danny pointed from the doorway. "Only one set of showers though, and they're downstairs, sorry. I'll tell Cynthia to bring up some food." Jack had already walked through the door and towards the bathroom, peeking his head in to appraise. Kaylee had one foot in the air, meaning to follow him, when the door clanged shut behind her.